How yoga and meditation improve your health if you suffer from asthmaMany athletes are familiar with the problem of exercise-induced asthma: just when they want to step on the gas one more time and kick the ball into the goal or overtake it while cycling, coughing sets in and they lose their breath. Apart from the classical therapy with medication, there are some gentle methods that help asthmatics to cope optimally with periods of stress. This includes yoga for improved breathing. Meditation for better handling of trigger stress. Here you will find a short introduction to each.
Yoga as an adjunct to classical asthma therapy
In a 2016 meta-study, U.S. researchers evaluated 15 studies for how a yoga practice affects asthma – and found that yoga alone leads to only slight improvement. However, many people report that their well-being is enhanced by a regular yoga practice. Posture also becomes more upright and the muscles of the chest are exercised, leading to better breathing. Yoga has a gentle and rather indirect effect, which is well suited as a complement to classical asthma therapy.
A yoga breathing exercise to try
Basically, people with asthma should have their emergency inhaler nearby when doing yoga and move gently. Breathing exercises provide an easy way to get started and help make breathing more effective. Breathing with pursed lips is one of these techniques:
Sit down on a chair. Relax your neck and shoulders. Breathe in slowly through your nose. Count to two. While doing this, keep your lips pressed together as if you were trying to blow out a candle. Slowly, while counting to four, exhale through your lips and let all the air escape from your lungs. Repeat until you are breathing calmly and deeply.
Recommended yoga postures for better breathing
There are a number of yoga postures (asanas) that are recommended to open up the pectoral muscles. These include bridge pose, where you lie on your back first and move your pelvis upward, cobra, where you lie on your stomach first and lean on your hands under your shoulders, and many other exercises more. It is recommended to learn such exercises under expert guidance and never overexert yourself.
Meditation helps against stress
While yoga helps the body to breathe, meditation mainly improves the handling of the asthma trigger stress. Not surprisingly, people with chronic conditions resulting from inflammation look for ways to reduce stress. Many of the diagnoses that lead people to try complementary and alternative medicine are such conditions, including asthma.
In a study comparing an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation practice with a control group, the MBSR group experienced less inflammation after stress. This suggests that meditations that target emotional response may be effective in reducing inflammation and chronic inflammatory conditions.
Meditation for more mindfulness
Mindfulness meditation techniques are especially useful for trying out meditation. The basic point is to observe your thoughts and not get too involved with them, but just take note of them. Through meditation, you can recognize how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in certain patterns. Over time, you can become aware of the human tendency to quickly judge experiences as "good" or "bad" To assess, become more aware.
Even when meditating, it is recommended to seek a start under expert guidance. Besides mindfulness meditation and Zen meditation, autogenic training is also a method for which many courses are offered.
Studies of the effects of meditation have documented a number of positive results, which include a reduction in blood prere, less anxiety, and a generally greater sense of well-being.
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